Loyola to face marquee foe at Arena Notre Dame

For the first time in more than 25 years, Notre Dame's men's basketball team is coming to Baltimore.

The Fighting Irish will play Loyola College on Dec. 9 at the Baltimore Arena. Tip-off is 1 p.m.

The last time Notre Dame played here was a December 1968 victory over American, when the Arena was called the Civic Center.

"We felt it was an opportunity to bring in a team with a name from outside and play a game at the Arena," said Joe Boylan, Loyola's athletic director. "It's a gam

ble in a lot of ways, but we just felt it was time to give it a shot. The college administration was very supportive of it. We're excited about it."

Boylan said the Greyhounds have been waiting to find the right opponent to schedule at the Arena. Notre Dame, with its loyal following and drawing power, had the prerequisites.

"We thought we'd have the chance to do something fiscally," he said. "They're the one team that travels well, and we thought we'd have a good chance to attract some people outside of our core group of supporters.

"We'd like to play a game there

every year, but it's not like Maryland, which could play anybody. We're certainly at a very different level."

Loyola has twice traveled to Notre Dame, losing last season, 78-68.

This game, said Boylan, gives the Greyhounds a chance to showcase their program "against a national opponent."

Loyola's second-year coach, Brian Ellerbe, said he thought it was "a natural" when he took the job to have at least one game each season downtown.

A portion of the game's proceeds will benefit the Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy in Baltimore.